Development of Condos vs. Townhomes vs. Apartments

[Christopher Smith]

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post. I am not new to real estate; however, I am going through my first new development of 29 units. I am developing my first vacant pieces of land to accommodate 29 Townhomes/Condos/SFA residences.

When I met with the city, they asked if I was going to sell the land under the residence with the sale or just the building....I was a little bit stumped. What is the difference? Or where can I go to look to find the answer?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

[Nik Moushon]

To put it as simply as I can TH and Apt. are going to be easier sell and rent and maintain but you will get more out of selling them as condos. (This is a general statement not market specific) Condos have a lot more to deal with that TH/Apt, these two are pretty cut and dry compared to Condos. 

Personally, I would never develop condos unless I plan the completely exit the building and ownership. Condos have the most law suites against them, period. I think even more than medical....if not they are a close second. As a developer this is the reason I would not do condos as a buy and hold property. Build and flip, yes.  As an architect I dont want to do them because I cannot escape any lawsuit in the future (regardless if its my fault or not) because my name/firm is tied to the building. Their are obviously plenty of arch firms that do this. Its just not my cup of tea.